Just looking at the Captains box score and the Dayton Dragons SS, Billy Hamitlon (a 2nd round pick in 09) has stolen his 33rd(!!!) base of the year in just 38 games..... he's also made his 17th error!!

TonyIPI wrote:FYI, but Haley bullpen move is supposed to be temporary. Expected back in rotation later in year.

I have a feeling that he may not have the starting requirements in between the ears, temperment, or repetoire/command. We'll see, but being one of Haley's top followers, I just believe the bullpen is where he'll eventually have to go to make it up the ladder successfully.

Trey Haley has pitched well in the pen, I'd leave him there fact is the team is deep in starting options any way its disappointing if he's a bullpen arm but if he's successful in the pen then it's not a wasted pick. Haley needs a track record of success, let him gain some consistency and in the meantime allow the kid some time to mature more physically as well as mentally. Never know it could be exactly what he needs... a little more time. I wouldn't get in a hurry to move him back to a starter, the Tribe will likely be adding a few more pitching options in the upcoming draft too. I'd would wait until late season maybe even a winter league team, to work on his pitches and innings then.

homerawayfromhome wrote:Trey Haley has pitched well in the pen, I'd leave him there fact is the team is deep in starting options any way its disappointing if he's a bullpen arm but if he's successful in the pen then it's not a wasted pick. Haley needs a track record of success, let him gain some consistency and in the meantime allow the kid some time to mature more physically as well as mentally. Never know it could be exactly what he needs... a little more time. I wouldn't get in a hurry to move him back to a starter, the Tribe will likely be adding a few more pitching options in the upcoming draft too. I'd would wait until late season maybe even a winter league team, to work on his pitches and innings then.

I agree as a starter he is buried, I think the BP is the way to go unless, they are afraid that leaving him in the pen makes him a rule V target

Trey Haley isn't up for the rule 5 till after the 2012 season.With the depth of this system & players up for protection after this season and next, I feel Trey is facing some long odds to get added to the 40 man roster at that time.

TonyIPI wrote:FYI, but Haley bullpen move is supposed to be temporary. Expected back in rotation later in year.

I have a feeling that he may not have the starting requirements in between the ears, temperment, or repetoire/command. We'll see, but being one of Haley's top followers, I just believe the bullpen is where he'll eventually have to go to make it up the ladder successfully.

I agree the pen is where he ultimately will have to end up to pitch in the big leagues.

That said, ML relievers typically are not developed at the Low-A level. They are in the starting rotation. Most of the relievers in Low-A and below have a very small chance at making the big leagues and are mostly organizational guys.

I'd expect once short-season leagues kick up and some promotions occur that is when Haley moves back into the rotation. There he can continue to work on his command, his pitches, controlling the running game, and be exposed to as many game situations as possible.

Is anybody intrigued as I am by Steven Wright? After reading Tony's column on the guy and especially the comments of Ross Adkins, it seems to me that Wright has a chance to be something special.

Tom Candiotti has been working with him and says his knuckleball (KB) is as good or better than any KB he's ever seen. Say what? Candy Man has been around since the 80s! That's saying a lot. Wright has been throwing it since he was a kid but has only gotten serious about using the pitch recently and has only been throwing it in games for the last couple of months. And it's already as good as anything Candy has ever seen? Wow!

Not only that, but Wright has a low 90s fastball and a good slider. I don't think I've ever seen a KB pitcher who can also hit 90. Wilbur Wood? I think he mixed in a fastball. Imagine a guy who can come in with a 92 mph fastball after you've watched 3-4 KBs float by. Wood won 20+ game four years in a row, including two 24-win seasons. That makes Wright pretty interesting.

Wright has a ways to go in order to fully integrate the KB into his repertoire, but he's got all the time in the world. He's 27, but KB pitchers routinely pitch into their 40s. How old is Tim Wakefield? And Hoyt Wilhelm was something like 46 when he retired.

I'm not saying Wright is a lock to be another Wilhelm or Wakefield, but his combination of a decent fastball and slider to go along with the best KB Candy Man has seen in 30 years certainly is interesting. Wright has given up 4 hits in his last 12 innings with 12 K's, so the guys in A ball can't hit him. If he's ever able to put it all together we could have a hell of a starting pitcher on our hands. I'll be tracking his progress with a lot of interest the rest of the year.

The other thing is all the top KB pitchers have names that start with a W. Wilhelm, Wood, Wakefield. Wright fits right in alphabetically.

I'm also intrigued by Austin Adams. The little guy can hit 99 mph and he's only in his second or third year of pitching after converting from the infield ala' Raffy Betancourt. He's kicking butt at AA.

I'm intrigued by guys who have 1) very little experience, 2) huge upsides, and 3) are already dominating at the level they're at.

If you consider Wright as having very little experiece throwing the KB, he qualifies on all counts. So does Adams. And White and Pomeranz.

One reason the knuckleball is so rare is that it takes so long for a guy to develop the pitch. If you sign a kid who throws a knuckler, by the time he fully knows how to use it he is already out of your system as a minor league free agent. With Wright, he is Rule 5 eligible this year - do we add him to the 40? Heck, he could be a solid starter for 15 years if the knuckleball is good and he can use it effectively. Sign him to a 20-year deal!!!

Wright's knuckleball is impressive....but now comes the hard part. Developing it to throw strikes consistently, miss some bats, repeat delivery etc. Also, since the knuckleball delivery is generally slow, he has to use that same delivery when throwing his fastball and slider in order not to tip off which pitch he is throwing. So learning to repeat his delivery with the FB/SL is going to be tough to learn, and will result in some velo loss and a drop in effectiveness to his slider.

Very intriguing story though.....want to see what he does from here on out!

martyinnewyork wrote:One reason the knuckleball is so rare is that it takes so long for a guy to develop the pitch. If you sign a kid who throws a knuckler, by the time he fully knows how to use it he is already out of your system as a minor league free agent. With Wright, he is Rule 5 eligible this year - do we add him to the 40? Heck, he could be a solid starter for 15 years if the knuckleball is good and he can use it effectively. Sign him to a 20-year deal!!!

First year learning the knuckle and is in single A, he wont get taken. I am super intrigued, I love the knucklers, and he has a very interesting mix but it could be another 2-3 years before he makes it. I think a great person to look at for the conversation is RA Dickey

According to Wikipedia, Dickey didn't start using the KB exclusively until age 30, so Wright is ahead of him. Dickey had a good year for the Mets last year, so it shows it's never too late.

I like the Wilbur Wood comparison although it's not perfect. Wood was a major league relief pitcher for five seasons before being traded to the White Sox at age 25. Upon arriving in Chicago, Hoyt Wilhelm suggested he start throwing the KB exclusively and the results were dramatic. For the next four years he worked out of the bullpen with ERA's between 1.87 and 3.01.

At age 29 he became a starter for the first time and won 106 games over the next five years, including back-to-back 24 win seasons.

At age 34 his knee was shattered by a line drive which effectively ended his career.

Wood had better conventional stuff than Wright considering he made it to the bigs at age 21. And he went to the KB earlier - at age 25, two years younger than Wright. But if Wright's knuckler is as good as Candiotti says it is, then he is a legitimate prospect, especially since he has marginal big league conventional pitches to augment it with, like Wood.

I don't care much for knuckleballers in general. Wood was probably as good as they come for five years, even finishing second to Gaylord Perry in the Cy Young voting one year. But he's also the only pitcher to win and lose 20 games in a season (he was 24-20 one year). They always have problems with walks and stolen bases. But a guy who can mix in a great KB with a low 90s fastball and a decent slider has a big upside if he can put it all together.

Even if he ditches the fastball/slider and just throws knucklers, he's got a better shot than a lot of pitchers in the system, IMO.

I don't care much for knuckleballers in general. Wood was probably as good as they come for five years, even finishing second to Gaylord Perry in the Cy Young voting one year. But he's also the only pitcher to win and lose 20 games in a season (he was 24-20 one year). They always have problems with walks and stolen bases. But a guy who can mix in a great KB with a low 90s fastball and a decent slider has a big upside if he can put it all together.

Phil Niekro also had a (21-20) season in '79. I like a knuckler.

Put him in the first game of a series and teams can experience the post-knuckler slump that is said to happen. If that happens who cares what his w/l pct is if we win the next 1-3 games because our opponents are dealing with the slump that happens after wards.

Prosecutor wrote:I never heard of a post-knuckleball slump. Maybe somebody should do a study and see if it exists.

I think it would be fun to have a KB pitcher go 7 innings and then bring in Hagadone and Austin Adams - both throwing 98 mph heat. Maybe not fun for the opponent, though.

The "Post-Knuckleball Slump" is something that commentators have talked about since I started watching baseball. I am not sure if there is data that supports it but I believe that many in baseball believe it. Never hurts to have some sort of edge.

I'm trying to think of the last knuckleball pitcher I actually saw pitch other than Wakefield. It might have been Candiotti. There just haven't been that many of them lately. I don't watch the NL so I've never seen Dickey pitch.

Maybe that's why I never heard of the post-knuckleball slump. I don't see how batters that face conventional pitches for 80, 100, or 120 straight games could suddenly get screwed up by facing a KB pitcher for three at-bats. I'm not doubting what you heard. It just doesn't make sense to me, which is why I'm wondering if anybody ever took the time to analzye the data.

If Wright ever cracks the Tribe's starting rotation I'll start tracking it to see if there is a secondary effect. One thing for sure, every pitcher in the rotation that throws hard will want to follow the knuckleballer.

Prosecutor wrote:I'm trying to think of the last knuckleball pitcher I actually saw pitch other than Wakefield. It might have been Candiotti. There just haven't been that many of them lately. I don't watch the NL so I've never seen Dickey pitch.

Maybe that's why I never heard of the post-knuckleball slump. I don't see how batters that face conventional pitches for 80, 100, or 120 straight games could suddenly get screwed up by facing a KB pitcher for three at-bats. I'm not doubting what you heard. It just doesn't make sense to me, which is why I'm wondering if anybody ever took the time to analzye the data.

If Wright ever cracks the Tribe's starting rotation I'll start tracking it to see if there is a secondary effect. One thing for sure, every pitcher in the rotation that throws hard will want to follow the knuckleballer.

artgold wrote:OK, nothing is gained keeping Anthony Gallas in Lake County any longer than this week.

He is hitting .355/.423/.574, but of more interest he already has 22 doubles in 60 hits.

No reason to keep him in the Midwest League any longer than this week, nothing is blocking him at Kinston.

He is not a prospect that is why he is there, can't promote a guy if there is no where to put him. Its great to see him beating up on high school kids it is what he should do. Cannon getting he call up first was positional; value and also showed to a degree the indians view on Gallas which seems to be as a non prospect

artgold wrote:OK, nothing is gained keeping Anthony Gallas in Lake County any longer than this week.

He is hitting .355/.423/.574, but of more interest he already has 22 doubles in 60 hits.

No reason to keep him in the Midwest League any longer than this week, nothing is blocking him at Kinston.

He is not a prospect that is why he is there, can't promote a guy if there is no where to put him. Its great to see him beating up on high school kids it is what he should do. Cannon getting he call up first was positional; value and also showed to a degree the indians view on Gallas which seems to be as a non prospect

I disagree with you here. He may not have been considered a prospect, but based upon his performance he deserves a closer look at the next higher level.

Sure he is a bit old for the league, but he was a bit of an after thought when signed. Regarding his beating up on high school kids, he is only a year and a half older than Midwest League average. It isn't like he chose to play against younger guys too.

He had a very good career at Kent State, and is a local guy to add to the interest. With the failure of Abreu and Cid to develop, I have no problem giving Gallas a good look in the Kinston OF.

artgold wrote:OK, nothing is gained keeping Anthony Gallas in Lake County any longer than this week.

He is hitting .355/.423/.574, but of more interest he already has 22 doubles in 60 hits.

No reason to keep him in the Midwest League any longer than this week, nothing is blocking him at Kinston.

He is not a prospect that is why he is there, can't promote a guy if there is no where to put him. Its great to see him beating up on high school kids it is what he should do. Cannon getting he call up first was positional; value and also showed to a degree the indians view on Gallas which seems to be as a non prospect

I disagree with you here. He may not have been considered a prospect, but based upon his performance he deserves a closer look at the next higher level.

Sure he is a bit old for the league, but he was a bit of an after thought when signed. Regarding his beating up on high school kids, he is only a year and a half older than Midwest League average. It isn't like he chose to play against younger guys too.

He had a very good career at Kent State, and is a local guy to add to the interest. With the failure of Abreu and Cid to develop, I have no problem giving Gallas a good look in the Kinston OF.

Like I said your POV might be right, but I think he is not viewed as a real prospect. I think he is a filler who will spend the year in low A. The fact others have been promoted over him, make this seem like the case to me.

Gallas should be promoted to Kinston, besides playing excellent that OF is very suspect. Might as well push him along in a year where to me it is very clear, there are not many bats lighting it up and there wasnt that much expectation to begin with anyway. He could chip into Abreu/Cid/Greenwell/DH time and it wouldn't bother me at all. One thing, all of the doubles, I haven't seen them. Strictly gap or is there HR potential there?

artgold-i agree with you about gallas, but he should feel fortunate to even be in lake county, look what happened to fellow UDFA alex kaminsky. he led mahoning valley last summer on the mound and was a new york-penn league all star, even made an appearance at akron with 3 scoreless innings and picking up a victory there, and he was released at the end of spring training. he also deserved a chance to advance to the next level, based on his performance. but we all know decisions arent based strictly on performance.

nolanryan wrote:artgold-i agree with you about gallas, but he should feel fortunate to even be in lake county, look what happened to fellow UDFA alex kaminsky. he led mahoning valley last summer on the mound and was a new york-penn league all star, even made an appearance at akron with 3 scoreless innings and picking up a victory there, and he was released at the end of spring training. he also deserved a chance to advance to the next level, based on his performance. but we all know decisions arent based strictly on performance.

thats my point, Kaminsky is an example of a going doing literally everything he could, but got stuck in a numbers game and the number was based on his draft number which was none. If you got drafted or signed they will get the first chances

The Indians now view Gallas as more than a filler guy and are very intrigued by him. He has jumped up the priority ladder considerably. The problem is you have Holt, Abreu, Cid and Greenwell all in Kinston who are higher priority guys. Neither is ready for a call to Akron, though it is possible that Holt may soon see a promotion to Akron which would open a spot for Gallas. That's the big thing....sometimes guys deserve to be moved up, but there has to be a spot above them to go to.

That all said, I would be surprised if Gallas is not promoted once the second half starts after the Lake County and Kinston All Star breaks June 20-22. Barring injury or a complete crater with his performance, he should be in Kinston within the next three weeks.

Someone brought up Kaminsky....I don't think it was just the Indians though. I may be mistaken, but no other club signed him after he was released. Performance in the NY Penn League is often taken with a HUGE grain of salt. The examples are endless with good performances from lesser valued prospects for teams all around the team. A few Indians of late who had great seasons like Vidal Nuno (2009), Heath Taylor (2008), and Todd Martin (2007) are pure evidence of that.

alex kaminsky was signed by the fargo-moorhead redhawks of the american association days after his release by the indians, and is in their starting rotation, in a league filled with much older and experienced players, even sprinkled with ex MLB players, he is one of the youngest players in the league. through 20 innings, he is holding opposing batters to a .205 OBA. tony it would be very difficult for any player, let alone an UDFA coming out of short season ball, even with the season kaminsky had, to be picked up during the last days of his first spring training, when minor league rosters are set and teams are preparing to break camp. good luck to kaminsky, hope he gets another opportunity to prove himself with an affiliated team, he certainly wasnt afforded that opportunity by the indians, unlike gallas to prove that he did not belong. good for anthony gallas though, i will be pulling for him!!

[quote="TonyIPI"]The Indians now view Gallas as more than a filler guy and are very intrigued by him. He has jumped up the priority ladder considerably. The problem is you have Holt, Abreu, Cid and Greenwell all in Kinston who are higher priority guys. Neither is ready for a call to Akron, though it is possible that Holt may soon see a promotion to Akron which would open a spot for Gallas. That's the big thing....sometimes guys deserve to be moved up, but there has to be a spot above them to go to.

That all said, I would be surprised if Gallas is not promoted once the second half starts after the Lake County and Kinston All Star breaks June 20-22. Barring injury or a complete crater with his performance, he should be in Kinston within the next three weeks.quote]

Everyone knows "invested" players get the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, xth nods for promotion over a NDFA. The real question is this. How did Gallas end up a NDFA?

Kent State is scouted every game. They also challenge themselves historically against decent competition early in the season and in the NCAA's.

Gallas is in several offensive Kent State record books. And as medicore as many think MAC pitching is, it really isn't on the Friday's and Saturday's.

The next Kent State hitter who has been overlooked is Ben Klafczynski. A couple scouts told me he turned down the 10th round in last years draft to remain at Kent. They also mentioned he is scratch golfer. Kent State is in the Austin regional this weekend, and according to their HC, feels this is the best team he has had so far.

Klafczynski is pretty much leading the team in all offensive categories and is a true RF because of a very strong throwing arm. He is the all-time leader in runs scored, currently 2nd to Gallas in RBI's, and on the verge of becoming the all-time leader in total bases earned, and currently is 2nd in career hits.

As a senior, would be nice to see the Tribe pick him up in the 5-10 range and plop him into RF at Lake County if they promote Gallas.

Here is a good comparison:

George Springer is 6'3 and 205 pounds. So is Klafczynski. UCONN opposing pitching is comparable to Kent State. Here are the stats leading into regionals:

Springer-.361/.462/.644, 12HRKlafczynski-.368/.450/.597, 10HR

For what its worth, Klafczynski is 2-3 against Jed Bradley and homered off of Anthony Meo this season. The draft can be a funny thing!

stay humble i agree with everything you are saying about gallas and klaf. i go back again to kaminsky(also an ohio product and a local kid) in a very similar situation to gallas his senior year at wright state university as their friday night starter. the non conference schedule kaminsky faced was brutal, U of Virginia...he outpitched and defeated danny hultzen of then #1 ranked UVA 2-1 handing him only his 2nd loss of his collegiate career at the time. held texas a&m to 3 runs in regionals through 7 inn as a junior...and quality starts against clemson and oklahoma state. how could a kid like this slip through the cracks? because he wasnt from california or the south? lol. then he goes and puts up crazy numbers at mahoning valley and an appearance and win at akron, and still cant get the opportunity to prove he dosent belong. what a broke system it is. hard two believe a pitcher such as a josh tomlin was allowed to progress through the system, in spite of being a 19th rounder at the time. thank god he was given that opportunity. i think i know how the system works, i just dont understand it, if that makes any sense, and i understand that these guys were not the first this has happened to, and wont be the last.

nolanryan wrote:stay humble i agree with everything you are saying about gallas and klaf. i go back again to kaminsky(also an ohio product and a local kid) in a very similar situation to gallas his senior year at wright state university as their friday night starter. the non conference schedule kaminsky faced was brutal, U of Virginia...he outpitched and defeated danny hultzen of then #1 ranked UVA 2-1 handing him only his 2nd loss of his collegiate career at the time. held texas a&m to 3 runs in regionals through 7 inn as a junior...and quality starts against clemson and oklahoma state. how could a kid like this slip through the cracks? because he wasnt from california or the south? lol. then he goes and puts up crazy numbers at mahoning valley and an appearance and win at akron, and still cant get the opportunity to prove he dosent belong. what a broke system it is. hard two believe a pitcher such as a josh tomlin was allowed to progress through the system, in spite of being a 19th rounder at the time. thank god he was given that opportunity. i think i know how the system works, i just dont understand it, if that makes any sense, and i understand that these guys were not the first this has happened to, and wont be the last.

Huge diff between 19th round and undrafted, 19th round is kind of high when you consider the total number of rounds there are

jellis, I can tell you Klafczynski was an all Ohio shooting guard in basketball, there is video proof of a running 44" vertical leap, gave up football even though his HS and several others recruited him in football as a QB because they felt he was an easy D1 QB for college. He is also a scratch golfer, and this past winter indoors at Kent State, they allowed him to pitch for the scouts and breezed consistently in the 90's.

jellis, you read too much crap on the internet and buy intoothers opinions.

You produce an athletic George Springer WOW picture or video about his superior athleticism before I produce one with BK, then fine. Ben Klafczynski played 18u with the Ohio Yankees since sophomore year. I also know his past HS coaches and they have information also. jellis, you have to remember this player was a college freshman All American, competed in USA Baseball in 2006, and was nationally ranked back then.

There is a picture of that vertical leap floating around the web. When I find it, I will post it.

Consider that past early round draft picks failures are products of internet hype. Gallas is a product of true talent, as is his former teammate Klafczynski................

stayhumble wrote:jellis, I can tell you Klafczynski was an all Ohio shooting guard in basketball, there is video proof of a running 44" vertical leap, gave up football even though his HS and several others recruited him in football as a QB because they felt he was an easy D1 QB for college. He is also a scratch golfer, and this past winter indoors at Kent State, they allowed him to pitch for the scouts and breezed consistently in the 90's.

jellis, you read too much crap on the internet and buy intoothers opinions.

You produce an athletic George Springer WOW picture or video about his superior athleticism before I produce one with BK, then fine. Ben Klafczynski played 18u with the Ohio Yankees since sophomore year. I also know his past HS coaches and they have information also. jellis, you have to remember this player was a college freshman All American, competed in USA Baseball in 2006, and was nationally ranked back then.

There is a picture of that vertical leap floating around the web. When I find it, I will post it.

Consider that past early round draft picks failures are products of internet hype. Gallas is a product of true talent, as is his former teammate Klafczynski................

I know several teacher from Ben K's school, its not like I know nothing about him. I grew up in and around the highland schools, I myself went to Copley, but had family at Highland. Its when you break it down and look at speed and other such things that he does not measure up as well. Scratch golf is nice but that is not a sign of killer athleticism. Springer beats him I am sorry. We have yet to see Gallas do anything than beat up HS kids, as we saw with a guy like Gardner the jumps from level to level can be huge. I wish both these guys the best, I just tend to argue because you seem to have a definite agenda pushing both these guys and it reminds me a huge amount of a person who did the exact same thing with the exact same players last year.

nolanryan wrote:alex kaminsky was signed by the fargo-moorhead redhawks of the american association days after his release by the indians, and is in their starting rotation, in a league filled with much older and experienced players, even sprinkled with ex MLB players, he is one of the youngest players in the league. through 20 innings, he is holding opposing batters to a .205 OBA. tony it would be very difficult for any player, let alone an UDFA coming out of short season ball, even with the season kaminsky had, to be picked up during the last days of his first spring training, when minor league rosters are set and teams are preparing to break camp. good luck to kaminsky, hope he gets another opportunity to prove himself with an affiliated team, he certainly wasnt afforded that opportunity by the indians, unlike gallas to prove that he did not belong. good for anthony gallas though, i will be pulling for him!!

Good to hear he got picked up and is keeping the dream alive in indy ball. You never know. Would have liked to keep Kaminsky around another year as I know he was a huge Indians fan growing up, was a local guy, and had such a good season last year. Was probably the one release in spring that raised a brow from me. Good luck to him!

Anybody else surprised by Argenis Martinez on the all star team? I was more than a little surprised that Jesus Aguilar did not make it. His stat challengers are all much older from what I see. Guess it must e team needs and spreading the spots.

indianinkslinger wrote:Anybody else surprised by Argenis Martinez on the all star team? I was more than a little surprised that Jesus Aguilar did not make it. His stat challengers are all much older from what I see. Guess it must e team needs and spreading the spots.

If I recall correctly, the managers vote. Highly regarded among managers in the league for his defensive prowess.